


Silence in the Library

by wedontbelong



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-18 00:42:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4685738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wedontbelong/pseuds/wedontbelong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>River and the Doctor meet at the Library but a certain ginger changes the outcome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Birth

For all of his cool in the face of danger and silliness in defiance of death, that day turned his stomach and wracked him with fear. He was as pathetic and terrified as any human… pathetic. Seriously, he has been a dad before right?

The call came late at night while the Pond’s were sleeping and if they’d seen him he never would have lived it down. The phone slipped out of his fingers to clatter on the ground loudly, he just stood there frozen. A loud scream and quite a bit of yelling sent him back into action and before he even knew what was going on the Tardis was moving. That soothingly familiar sound did nothing to comfort him as he appeared in the greatest hospital in the universe.

The last time had been totally different but River still needed him here. So he steps out and quickly finds room 11. Part of him smiles fondly at the number, but his face doesn’t seem much aware of that as the door swings open. River’s cooing at a small bundle fondly and he approaches hesitantly.

“Got your message,” the words tumble out unsure and she glances at him with that same old flirty smile.

“Hello, Sweetie,” she nods and he approaches slowly.

“Wh-what’s that?” he asks timidly and looks down into the bundle’s folds.

A small face stares up at him with eerily bright green eyes that are somewhere between Amelia’s green and the Doctor’s own faded green. It reaches a soft fist up and giggles. An insulted look crosses his face and the Doctor touches his chin.

“No it’s not, my chins perfectly fine,” he defends.

“Sweetie, meet Theta John Williams-Pond-Song-Smith,” River whispers softly and his eyes snap to hers confused.

“Th-Theta?” the word slips into the air lowly.

“Meet your son, Doctor,” she answers and his eyes widen.

Time comes to a halt and the universe holds its breath as the Doctor takes this in. He could turn and run, it’s not as though he hadn’t been running already. A small smile tugs at his lips and River breathes a sigh of relief.

“Really?” his eyes sparkle and he holds his arms out hopefully. “C-can I?”

“Of course, Sweetie,” the child is handed over carefully and he coos at the child happily.


	2. The Time of Angels

Five years old and barely walking Theta never failed to make his loved ones smile. Amelia was the easiest, she seemed to laugh brightly at anything he did, even yawning. The Doctor was the second easiest it always seemed that he wanted to laugh at anything, like the laughter would hide all that sadness from his face. Rory and River were about the same, they didn’t laugh at his antics as much as the others but when they did it split their whole faces and shook their bodies.

Theta liked it when they laughed, he liked it a lot. So when he pulled his silliest face and Amy didn’t laugh it concerned him a lot. She always laughed so why wasn’t she laughing now?

“Right, so I get that she’s River Song and your future, but who’s the kid?” Amy asks in that thick Scottish accent that’s always captivated Theta.

“My son, Theta Song,” River answers, barely glancing at the two and she leads him away to make a call. As soon as the two are out of earshot River turns to the young child very seriously. “Theta, I need you to listen to Mummy very carefully.”

“Yeah?” he tilts his head curiously, causing his brilliant orange locks to cover half his face.

She smiles tightly and brushes the hair aside. “Grammy Pond and Daddy don’t know who you are yet, Theta,” she begins sadly. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mummy,” he nods seriously.

“And do you remember what I told you to do if they don’t know who you are?” River asks, stroking his cheek softly.

“Call them Doctor and Amy, they can’t know me yet,” Theta bites at his lip sadly, fighting back tears. “But, Mummy, why can’t they know. I love them…” his face wobbles sadly and a few tears try to escape his innocent greens.

“I know, love,” she wipes away a stray tear gently. “But if they find out too soon they could get really hurt, and we don’t want that do we?”

“No,” he shakes his head forcefully and hardens his face. “You can trust me, Mummy.”

“I know I can,” she sighs and brushes his hair back. “Doctor, can you sonic me?” she stands up and calls over to Theta’s dad who isn’t really his dad, not yet at least.

So as much as it hurts Theta carefully makes his way over to the Doctor and Amelia. He sends them his cutest smile and points at himself. “I’m Theta, you promise to keep Mummy safe from the Angels?”

“Yes of course, Theta,” the Doctor bends down to his height and looks like his hearts are breaking as green meets green. “I’ll always keep your Mummy safe.”

The Doctor looks like me might cry, like he knows some terrible secret and Theta reaches up to push his face into a smile. Theta doesn’t think he wants to find out what the Doctor’s terrible secret is.


	3. Demon's Run

Demon’s Run, a place that Theta’s heard about a million million times from his Mum. A place he knows he can’t go to yet so when the centurion shows up it hurts him so much to have to say no.

Theta was heading home after a long night running with his parents. The apartment is cold and empty, sometimes he wishes that his family was normal. There’s something in the shadows and he crouches to fly into action if it’s a threat.

“Who’s there?” his voice is a lot more confident then the nineteen year old feels, his father’s old trench coat bringing a lot less comfort than it should.

“Sorry,” a man with dusty hair and a great red cape steps forward. “Have we met yet?”

“Y-yes, we’ve met,” Theta’s voice wavers and he stands up properly.

“We need your help, they’ve taken Amy,” Rory states and Theta’s hearts sink.

“Demon’s Run?” he whispers the words so quietly it’s a miracle Rory hears him at all.

“Yes, are you coming?”

“I’m sorry,” Theta hangs his head in shame. “It’s not my time yet, I can’t go.”

Theta lowers his head, glancing up through thick lashes and Rory sighs.

“Yeah, you’re Mum said she couldn’t either,” Rory turns and leaves, that great cloak spinning with him dramatically.

Once he’s gone Theta’s shoulders began shaking sadly and tears plopped to his messy floor. A pair of slender arms encircle him and Theta cries into her brokenly. She doesn’t say anything, just offers silent comfort as the sobs slow down.

“Mum, I don’t know how much longer I can do this,” Theta’s voice breaks hoarsely. “The more times I see them the less they know me, and it just hurts so much.”

“I know, love, I know,” she rubs his back and if there was anything in the universe she could do to fix it she would. It breaks her heart to see her baby in this much pain. “Are you ready, love?”

He looks up with eyes full of too much pain for nineteen years and nods firmly, hardening his face. She types something into her vortex manipulator and with a flash of lightning they disappear.

 


	4. Forest of the Dead

It strikes Theta that if the Doctor uses his own memory space he’ll die and River’s figured that out too. He tries to send them away, but neither is going to risk losing him. She knocks him out and handcuffs him away, but Theta can’t let her do what she’s planning, it’d kill River and he can’t lose either of them he loves them too much. He finally knows that this is it, this is the moment he’d been born for so before his mum can do anything he’s got her passed out and tied up next to his dad.

He sends them a fond smile and  begins setting himself up, he’s nearly a full Time Lord and there’s nothing the two can do to stop him protecting them. Just approaching his first century and still on his first regeneration Theta knows he won’t survive. The Doctor and River begin waking and the computer informs him of how much time's left his face is set stubbornly as he twists some wires together and with a groan his dad opens his eyes.

“Oh, no, no, no. Come on, what are you doing? That’s my job?” the Doctor complains and Theta smiles tightly.

“I learned from the best,” he nods and looks down at the task at hand.

“Why am I handcuffed? Why do you even have handcuffs?” the Doctor demands, tugging on the metal angrily.

“I don’t they’re Mum’s and I’m sorry, but I can’t let you die, just keep her safe, you promised me a long time ago that you’d keep her safe so you have to stay alive to keep it,” Theta breathes the words out slowly and refuses to let himself cry.

“Stop this now. This is going to kill you! I’d have a chance, you don’t have any,” the Doctor begs desperately and Theta watches sadly.

“You wouldn’t have any chance and neither do I. I’m timing it for the end of the countdown, there’s a blip in the command flow. This way it’s a higher chance for a clean download,” Theta doesn't think he’d ever been this calm in his life, all that time crying and running, he’d never been the calm hero.

“Theta, no please, what about your mum?” the Doctor’s eyes are a wide brown so unlike Theta’s dad’s.

“Oh, it’ll tear her apart,” Theta nods, a few tears slipping out for that. “But at least she’ll live, and you too, have a million more adventures with her, please.” He doesn’t bother with the tears and smiles at the Doctor bitterly. “You know what the really funny part of this all is? This means you’ve always known how I was going to die, I guess this explains that look you used to get when you thought I wasn’t looking. All my life you knew I was coming here to die. The last time I saw you, the you I grew up around, the future you, I mean, you turned up at my crummy old apartment, I guess I’ll never see that dump again, you showed up with a new haircut and matching suits for us. I thought the top hats were the most brilliant thing at the time and you know what we went to this-this,” Theta’s voice cracks and he feels so broken. “It was the great forests of Veloursian and at night you could lay out on the forest ground and the stars were like a rainbow of color through the leaves. It was the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen…” Theta stares at his mum sadly. “It was a meteor shower and the greatest light show the universe has ever seen and you cried, you cried so much.”

“Autodestruct in one minute.” the computer’s voice makes him flinch and he smiles at the Doctor brilliantly.

“You wouldn’t tell me what was so sad, but I guess you knew I was coming here. You even gave me your screwdriver, said it was only a loan, but I should’ve known.”

The Doctor’s eyes jump to the two sonic’s and River’s diary, he tries to reach them desperately, but they’re just too far. River begins stirring and Theta swallows thickly.

“You can’t stop me,” Theta smiles bitterly.

“You can let me do this,” the Doctor begs, those big brown eyes are so sad.

“What?” River sits up and takes in everything. “No, Theta, you can’t!”

The yell echoed through the room and he smiles.

“I know what I’m doing, besides you two have so many great adventures coming.” Theta stares the Doctor dead in the eye. “Besides if I let you do this, Mum and I ‘ill never have met you.”

“Time can be rewritten,” the Doctor says desperately and he shakes his head.

“Not this, never those. Not one line. Don’t you dare take those. It’s okay though, because it’s not over for you. You’ll see me again. You’ve still got all of that stuff, all those beautiful times. You’ll see me again, and you. You watch us run.”

“Please, Theta, let me do it,” River begs, tears spilling down her face like a waterfall.

“Auto Destruct in ten,” the computer groans out.

“Please, Theta, I can’t lose you, it’s too soon,” River begs and it breaks his heart. “Not you, not my baby. Doctor, save him!”

“Nine, eight, seven.”

“Please, Theta, if you do this I’ll ground you to the end of time!”

“Oh, I think it’s a little late for that, Mum…”

“Four. three.”

“Please,” River begs. “Doctor, save him!”

“I love you, Mum.”

“Two, one.”

Theta connects the power cables and there’s a blinding light. So Theta’s legacy ended and his precious parents could both keep on living without him.

 


End file.
